Too Much of a Good Thing
by vintage88
Summary: On the night that no one understood, Franky finds the ability to say a little bit about who she is. Straight? Lezza? No, she just wants it all, and apparently, a few people want her too.
1. Chapter 1

_AN - My own, fast-paced spin on Franky..._

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On the night that no one understood, Franky was on whiskey. She sipped it easily, right out of the bottle.

"Just take a sip," she'd tell them. "It kind of tastes like bananas, you know?"

No, people didn't know. It didn't taste like bananas, but that was just one of the many things they wouldn't understand. They continued to let her sip her whiskey indefinitely because, why not? It was a party. If you weren't there to get fucked up then you weren't invited.

With maybe the exception of Mini, because did you know that your average shot of liquor is about 100 calories? Rum, vodka, whiskey; it all made her vomit without even having to drink it. Cocaine would ruin her nose and she'd heard pills slowed down one's metabolism. So on the day of a party, she would eat only one walnut. That way she could afford one shot of something strong and then smoke eight cigs throughout the night. That, along with the scent of teens sweating alcohol and dancing in a blur of music and lights, was all Mini need to reach her own level of drunk, because really she was fucked up enough as it was.

And wasn't everybody?

That's how Matty saw it. He had an equation for it:

(One fucked up person) + (everyone else who's fucked up) = no one's that fucked up after all

And this meant everyone had permission to get as drunk and high as liked! It wasn't really an equation he shared with many people, because from past experiences most didn't get it. Either way though, it was the reason Matty had decided to have a party while his dad was away at a conference.

Nick never needed a reason.

Therefore the Levan house was flooded: teenagers, drugs, music and smoke. That's why Franky had her bottle of whiskey, and why she was dancing in a triangle with Alo and Liv. Franky liked to dance with her eyes closed, swaying her hips and swinging her head side to side to side to side until she felt dizzy. And then she'd have to open her eyes to stop from falling over.

Franky's got these wide, sharp eyes, and when she puts even just the littlest amount of eyeliner around them they're even more defined. Even more noticeable. Even harder to ignore. So maybe that's why Matty looked at her when she opened her eyes to stop from falling over. It's not that he was watching her as he approached the dancing triangle, but that's what it seemed like when Franky opened her eyes and Matty was the first thing she saw.

That's why she smiled at him and said, "Do you want some whiskey?" to which his only reply was this sort of quiet laugh before walking right past and gabbing onto Liv's hips.

Together they swayed, Matty and Liv, this wonderful blend of bodies that fit like a puzzle. And what was Franky? She decided she wasn't drunk enough. Angling her head back, she took two large mouthfuls of whisky. She made eye contact with Alo, who put his spliff between his lips as he clapped approvingly over his head.

"Atta girl, Franks, atta girl!" Alo bent his knees and raised a flat hand, "Here, chase it with this."

Franky hi-fived him as hard she could, and the stinging in her hand took away from the burning in her throat. She coughed a bit, and shivers caused her to quickly shake her head. Alo's eyebrows arched in shock and he cried, "No! No, you're not done yet. Take another big swig and it'll make it easier. I swear ya."

She took his word for it.

"There you go. Feel better?"

It took a moment for Franky's eyes to focus on Alo. She took that as a good sign and nodded. Closing her eyes again, she said, "It tastes like bananas."

"Mmm, I like me some bananas," Alo replied before taking a long drag on his spliff. As he peered over the heads of those around him, he caught sight of Grace and Rich on the couch. He arched an eyebrow. They were always on a couch, making out, making face, somewhere. If there was a couch they'd find it. As a hazy realization fell around him like fog, he mumbled, "I need to find me a couch."

And he was off, moving slowly through the crowd as he sought out to fulfill his mission. Franky asked Alo where he was going, but he didn't hear her. She stood there for a second until he was out of sight, and then she turned around. Liv was suddenly there, laughing.

"Yo, Franks, Matty brought us some shrooms. You wanna split with us?" Liv started laughing again, drunk and wobbling, and she rested her head on Franky's shoulder, giggling into her neck. Collecting herself, Liv continued, "He doesn't have enough to trip or nothing, but we'll still feel good."

The tiny redhead nodded eagerly. Liv had had her at, "Yo, Franks." They grabbed hands and pushed their way into a corner where Matty waited. He told Franky to put her whiskey down and hold out a hand. He began to tap the shrooms into her open palm.

Liv suddenly cried out, "Guys, I'm sorry, I tried to hold but you're gonna have to wait. I have to piss like a racehorse."

Matty let out an exaggerated groan. "Franky's already got them in her hand."

But Liv was on the move, "Just give me a second. And don't you dare start without me."

Franky pressed herself into the wall, keeping her hand still. The shrooms looked like dried herbs, and already in her drunken mind they spinning to the thumping bass of the music. Shyly, she glanced up at Matty and asked, "What should I do with them? Do you want them back?"

He looked at her. "I want..."

Instead of finishing his sentence, Matty surprised Franky by lightly grabbing hold of her wrist. His hand was cool against her hot, alcohol-flushed skin. He bent down slightly, and began eating the shrooms right out of her hand, his eyes never straying from her own. Franky felt his lips brush against her palm, and her smile became unpreventable. When he was done eating, he continued to hold to her wrist. Without a word, he poured more shrooms back into her hand.

"See," he said, "Liv doesn't have to know."

And here, Franky had to drop her eyes. She could hardly stand it. She could hardly stand!

"Matty..." she whispered.

Liv showed up just then, all grinning and jumping and slurring her words a little more as said, "Let shtart the shit!" She stood there, waiting like a dog. Biting her lip, Franky handed over the shrooms she was holding. Liv grinned and asked, "Does this mean I'm first?"

"No," Franky suddenly said, and without warning she brought Liv's hand up to her face and ate them out of her palm. She refused to look at Matty, refused to look at anyone, even as Liv giggled her name in shock. Franky ate the shrooms cleanly, noting that they tasted like dried grass. When she finished, she turned over Liv's hand and met her eye as she kissed her fingers.

Liv squealed Franky's name again, and the two of them laughed as Matty doled out Liv's share. She didn't notice that the bag was empty at this point, and just seemed to accept it when Matty said, "I would say we give them 25 minutes."

"I know what we can do until then," Liv said slyly, pushing herself up against Matty.

That was all Franky allowed herself to see. She turned her head, smile gone. As a reflex, she reached down for her whiskey and allowed herself a good swig. Standing there, Franky let the alcohol hit her. And then she heard Matty and Liv's muffled laugh and she knew she had to get out of that corner.

She stumbled through the Levan household. There was a small hallway that connected the kitchen and living room, and pushed against one of the hallway's walls was a couch. Franky guess it had been pushed there to make room for the dance floor. What she couldn't guess was why Alo was sitting there by himself, arms out wide, legs slightly spread.

"Fraaaancesca!" he bellowed and she sat down next to him. "Funny seeing you here, eh?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well you see," he told her, "I've decided to actually take some advice from my good friend Richard. After watching him, I've learned that if you want action, a good place to wait is a couch. Then the fun will find you, you know what I'm saying?"

Franky gave him a hard look. Deciding to ignore his question, she offered him some whiskey. He accepted it easily, taking a large gulp with his eyes closed as it burned his throat. The farmboy shook his head. Opening his eyes, he took a moment to let Franky come into focus, and then he smiled at her. Just as he was about to comment on the drink, Franky suddenly leaned into him.

She kissed him.

And so he kissed her back, as surprised as he was by it all. He kissed her back because she was right there, and he was on a couch, but also because she was kind of good at it. Franky was good and she was kind of... yummy. And for a moment Alo was so into it that he forgot about the whiskey he was holding and couldn't feel his hand start to tip forwards, just enough until -

"Shit, my balls!" he suddenly shouted, and they pulled apart. "I just wet myself. I mean - fuck, no, I just spilt... your whiskey, Franks, it was your whiskey."

Franky bit her lower lip, trying not to laugh. She leaned back into the couch, glancing sideways at Alo. He gave her a small smile.

"Franks," he said casually, "do you mind if I ask you something? And it's not in a bad way or anything, course not. But, I mean, are you a lezza? Or are you into boys and just dress..." Unable to find the words, Alo waved a hand in the air.

Smile faltering slightly, Franky looked down at her shoes. She didn't know how long she had been making out with Alo for, or how long she had been stumbling around the Levan house, but she could feel the shrooms kicking in. Maybe Matty had underestimated the time until their effect?

"I'm not a lesbian," she found herself saying quietly, "but I'm not straight either."

Alo nodded. "Ah, still confused sexually, are you? Happens to all of us. Even me, back when I was, like, nine."

"But I'm not confused," Franky sat up and turned to look at him. "I'm not confused, I just... don't care. I can't tell you why I dress the way I do other then that it feels right. I like keeping my hair short and wearing these jackets, even if I don't look like a total girl. And I don't know why I like Matty."

"Matty!" Alo's eyebrows shot up, but Franky hardly noticed. She was on a roll now.

"And I don't know why I like Liv, especially when the two of them are together. But I do. Girls and boys, it doesn't matter to me because, Alo, I just don't care."

There was a pause as Franky let Alo think it over. He scrunched up his face and looked upwards, deep in thought. "I think there's a word for that," he said matter-of-factly.

Franky laughed.,"There's a word for everything. I'd rather not hear it."

"Oh. Alright then." Alo puffed out his cheeks for a second before - wisely - putting the whiskey bottle down at his feet. "Want to show me how much you don't care, then?"

With a grin, Franky turned her body toward Alo, and this time they both leaned in to each other. They hadn't been making out for very long before a pair of heels tripped their way into the crammed hallway. There was a small gasp, followed by, "What the fuck?"

Mini, who was wasted off of one and half shots of vodka, five cigarettes and half a walnut, was unable to stop her mouth from dropping at the sight of the two redheads. A laugh escaped her as she asked, "Farmboy and Little La Roux? I don't believe it."

Raising his long arms into the air, Alo exclaimed, "Minerva! Welcome to my couch. Care to join?"

For a second Mini's eyes flashed at the offer, but she quickly blinked and scowled. "What do you two think you're doing?"

Alo and Franky eyed each other. "Want to show her how much you don't care, too?" Alo whispered.

The corner's of Franky's lips curled upwards. Wobbling slightly, she pushed herself off the couch and took a few steps towards Mini. The blonde's smile wavered, and she was almost about to ask Franky what she was doing before the redhead suddenly pressed their lips together. Franky kissed Mini, and she kissed her again until she felt Mini's tongue start to push its way into her mouth.

At that point, Franky pulled herself back. She was surprised to see an expression of longing in Mini's face, but Franky made herself gesture towards Alo. "He's all yours," she told Mini before leaving the small hallway. If Franky had looked back, she would have seen the blonde start to make a move towards the couch, only she didn't look back because she was too focused on finding somewhere to just sit.

In the end, the only empty spot she could find were a flight of stairs. She took a seat about halfway up, cradling her face in her hands out of shock. She had had more action tonight then ever, and the taste in her mouth was a mix of weed and lip gloss - neither of which were hers. Franky had told Alo she didn't care, and she had showed Mini that she didn't care, but somewhere in the house were two dark-haired brunettes. Matty and Liv, somewhere together.

Somewhere without her.

Franky felt her heart crunch and churn in response to the night where so much had happened, yet she still hardly understood a thing.

Oh yeah, she definitely fucking cared.

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_x0_

_vintage88_


	2. Chapter 2

On the night that no one understood, Franky was on the stairs. She was also on shrooms, and even though she hadn't taken very many, she was already regretting them. The carpet made beautiful swirling designs and everything felt like a marvelous dream, but what Franky didn't like was how her mouth seemed to talk without her permission.

"Franky?" Grace was standing at the bottom of the stairs. "Franky, are you alright?"

Lovely Grace. Franky smiled at her, noting how Grace's signature red lipstick had been kissed off. "I'm fine," she said. "Just took some shrooms with Matty and Liv... Matty and Liv."

Grace's mouth made the perfect shape of an 'o' at this. "Mushrooms," she exclaimed. "Well, I heard the best thing for those is to just get up and dance and enjoy the high. If you don't, they'll make you curl in on yourself like origami." She paused. "Have you seen Mini?"

The design on the carpet twirled into the shapes of arrows, gliding across the floor. Franky followed them, and they disappeared around the corner into the crammed hallway. "Mini's snogging Alo," she said, the words only hitting her after they left her mouth. She snapped her eyes up, "I mean, she's -"

"Alo?" Grace looked around, as if expecting Mini and Alo to show up, making out against the wall right there. "Mini and Alo. I wouldn't have guessed it."

Franky sighed, scratching her head. "Well, I sort of told Mini to... go join Alo on the couch. She might not have listened to me though, I mean, it is Mini."

Grace's eyebrows furrowed slightly, and she nodded her head to herself. It only took a moment before her wide-eyed, innocent expression was back on her face, and she said simply, "I think we should find Mini."

The two girls made their way through the Levan house. Dubstep was playing over the speakers, and with a sinking feeling, Grace realized that Alo wasn't with Mini anymore. He would be dancing on the floor, flailing his long arms everywhere in beat of his favorite techno. As they rounded a corner, Grace's guess was proven correct by the sight of an empty couch.

"They were here," Franky said cluelessly. She reached down to pick up her bottle of whiskey, glad to have found something. "I kissed him too," she found herself telling Grace, "I was kissing Alo before Mini showed up."

"Of course you were," Grace said with a little sigh. Her smile never faltered, which confused Franky even more. "Well, I'm going to go look..."

Grace's words were lost as she hurried out of the hallway, her swishing dress the last thing Franky saw of her before realizing she had gone. Swearing to herself, Franky took a small sip from her bottle as she sauntered into the kitchen. She leaned against the counter, staring at her shoes. They were white, clean and crisp looking, all except for a scuff mark on her left toe. Nick's peppy, booming voice announce his arrival in the kitchen, but Franky didn't look up. She was too distracted by the tiny imperfection. It was all she saw.

But then she heard _him,_ and that made her look up.

Of course it did.

She had little control of herself around him. That was her imperfection. S he could feel her power of restraint being weakened even more from the drugs. Perfect.

"Are they working?" Matty asked her. "The shrooms, do you feel them?"

Franky definitely felt something... When she didn't answer though, Matty placed his hands on her waist. She sucked in her breath, and it was like everything had slowed down. His hands were on her waist and their eyes were locked for hours.

But time doesn't ever slow down, does it? No matter how much we want it to stop.

Matty's hands were on her waist, and he picked her up to place her on the counter. She was so skinny that he did it with complete ease, as if she were a little child. As if she were a little boy. And then he stopped touching her, placing his hands on either side of her legs as she sat on the counter, bringing his face closer to hers as he looked into her eyes with his intense stare. Matty wasn't looking at Franky though, he was just looking at her eyes; looking for something.

"Dilated pupils," he grinned. "They're hitting you harder then I thought they would."

Something was hitting her. Driving her. Crushing her. It's all the same, isn't it?

Franky was about to take another sip of her whiskey, but Matty brought his hand up to the bottle to stop her. "Look, I'm not going to tell you you've had enough," he told her, "but before you continue with your whiskey, I should let you know that Alo's told me something pretty interesting."

Franky rolled her eyes, silently swearing as she tried to remember what exactly she had told that ginger farm boy. Seeing the slight horror cross her face, Matty laughed, "He said you two got busy on some couch."

"Is that all he said?" She just had to make sure, her face serious.

"Well, he wasn't getting into detail about whatever you two did."

And at that, Franky sighed because she felt safe again. Her love for Matty and crush for Liv and fondness for everyone else, male or female, was still a secret.

Matty continued though. "Don't worry, I wouldn't have let him get into great detail. Can't trust that wanking boy, you know? He'd probably exaggerate everything." Franky wanted to stop Matty and tell him that all she and Alo had done was kiss, but then Matty had to go and lick his lips, whether he meant to or not, and all she could stare at was that triangle of pink for the second it appeared.

"But," Matty lowered his voice, "if _you_ wanted to tell me about it, I'd listen. It'd be better coming from you, Franky. I'd listen if you were telling me about _it._"

Franky felt her cheeks redden, because whatever Matty was referring to was not the truth: a snog session with Alo. Then, for whatever reason, Franky felt her eyes begin to well up and she wanted to just disappear, so she asked, "Where's Liv?"

And then she _really, really_ wanted to disappear because when she spoke her voice had cracked. Cracked like some crying child, or some boy going through puberty. Dropping her head, Franky pushed herself off the counter and muttered something about having to pee. It's not that she had to, but she just had to get away from Matty - from everyone, before they saw her burst into tears that she wouldn't be able to explain properly.

She ran to the front of the Levan house and then scampered up the stairs with her trusty bottle of whiskey. Reaching the washroom, she burst through the door and onto Mini, who was applying a new coat of pink lipstick.

"Fuck," Franky muttered, the weight of her body closing the bathroom door as she slid down onto the floor. There was silence as Franky waited for herself to start crying, but then, after all that pushing through drunk teenagers and tripping up the stairs, all that emerged was a single tear. It rolled down her cheek and under her chin.

One, single, fucking tear. That was it? Franky couldn't believe it. It made her grit her teeth.

"Sorry for intruding," she muttered, too miserable and drunk and high to even brush her tear away.

The click of Mini's heeled shoe was the first response. The second was Mini, as she slowly took a seat next to Franky. "It's not a problem," the blonde said quietly. "A new coat of lipstick was required after that whole Alo thing..." And then, Mini lied, "I don't know why I kissed him. I don't know what came over me ."

She lied right to Franky's face, and Franky had no idea. Not yet, anyways.

After a pause, Mini spoke up again, "Look Franks, I'm sitting my ass on some dirty washroom floor for you, so I'm expecting you to tell me what's wrong." _Beat_. "I just want to make sure you're okay." _Heartbeat_.

Franky hiccuped. "It's Matty," she said after turning to look at Mini. The fact that she could say his name so easily while looking into Mini's eyes made the blonde's face fall slightly.

Then Franky hiccuped again.

"Here, let me take this from you for starters," Mini said as she reached over Franky to grab the whiskey. "Don't worry, I'll give it back in a little bit."

"Help yourself," Franky told her.

Mini just smiled, keeping the bottle firmly in her grip. "I've seen the way you look at Matty," she told Franky softly, "I know what you think about him, Franks. Although I can't say I understand why."

The small redhead shrugged. "I just do. He was the first one in Bristol who showed me friendship. Real friendship, in his weird way." Mini's grip tightened on the whiskey. "What the hell am I supposed to do, Mini?"

Mini look straight ahead. Her hands untwisted the lid to the bottle, and she brought up to her lips. One gulp, two gulps, three gulps... For other people, their throat would be burning and eyes tearing up, but all Mini felt were numbers. One hundred calories, two hundred calories, three hundred calories entering her system. On her fourth gulp she had to stop, certain she was going to throw up right there. As she brought the bottle down though, her arm touched Franky's.

And - would you believe it? - Mini forgot all about those numbers. Everything felt okay.

"Strong whiskey," she said quietly.

Footsteps could be heard outside the bathroom door, and someone tried to push the door open. "Excuse me, but I'm fucking already in here," Mini snapped at them. There was a desperate protest from the other side of the door, but Mini reached up over her head to lock the door. "Not my problem," she called loudly. "Piss on the carpet for all I care."

Franky smiled at this, and then she laughed, looking at Mini and shaking her head in disbelief. They shared a look, grinning and giggling at each other. A determined look then set over Mini's face, and narrowing her eyes she said, "You asked me what you should do about Matty. Well, I think you need to forget about him. Just find someone else."

"Easy for you to say," Franky rolled her eyes. "You're beautiful and everyone else thinks you're beautiful. People want you. They don't think that when they see me."

"But what about..." Mini spoke slowly, looking downwards. "What about when I saw you with Alo?"

"What about it?"

For a second, Mini imagined what the two of them must have looked like: Two drunk girls propped up against some door, sitting on a greasy bathroom floor with a bottle of liquor, more than half finished. It wasn't where she normally ended up at parties, but then again, this party had proven to be anything but normal, staring with Alo; starting with Franky. And so Mini decided to just say it.

"I did end up kissing Alo."

Franky smiled, "Thought you might of."

"I only made out with him though because you told me to."

And then, Franky saw where this was going. It made her stomach churn - good or bad, she wasn't sure. "Wait, Mini -"

"I did it because you were kissing him."

"Mini, don't -"

"And because I just wanted to kiss you."

Even though Franky could see it coming, it still surprised her to hear it out loud. She decided that the churning in her stomach was the good kind of churning, which in itself may have been bad. Franky opened her mouth, only to realize that she had nothing to say. What was she supposed to say? She was an androgynous, awkwardly skinny girl who had just learned the beautiful queen Mini wanted to kiss her. The thought made her smile.

Maybe Mini thought that was some sort of cue, because she pushed her face towards Franky's. Then she positioned herself so she was on her knees, leaning into Franky as she aggressively kissed her.

That's where Franky decided there was nothing stranger than kissing. Everyone loves to be kissed, but how can you continue to kiss someone back when you know they want you, but you want someone else? That's what Franky did. She kissed back with as much passion and fury as Mini - as someone who actually meant it.

Perhaps that was why it was so violent, because only half of it was real and both of them knew it. Their faces pushed against each other as if seeing who was stronger; mashing lips and tangled tongues. Franky brought a hand behind Mini's head, lacing her fingers with hair. It made Mini shiver, but she didn't want to be the one who was being controlled. She had to make sure Franky knew it was her, and not someone else.

Not Matty.

Mini leaned in more, bringing a hand up to Franky's neck and running it down to her shoulder. She began to push her back, working Franky down until she was almost flat on the floor. Franky's head was still propped up against one of the bathroom walls, being dug into the plaster until it started to hurt. But it was a violent kiss, so Franky accepted it. And they kissed and they kissed and they kissed, and Mini was working. She wanted Franky flat, she wanted their legs tangled, she wanted it her way. Most importantly, she wanted Franky to believe it.

That could never happen though, because no matter how hard Franky's head was being pressed into the wall, it couldn't distract her enough from the feeling of Mini's hand sneaking under her shirt, and sliding its way up to her breast. It couldn't distract her enough from how wrong it all felt.

She turned her head to the side. "Mini..."

The blonde didn't stop. She pretended not to hear as she roughly kissed the side of Franky's neck.

"Mini."

With one hand, she gripped Franky's breast. With the other, she reached down to touch Franky's inner thigh. She tried to kiss those lips again, but Franky had curled them in, squeezing her eyes shut as she squirmed.

"Mini, stop!"

Finally, she listened, because the side of a face can't kiss you back and you can only try for so long. Mini froze, noticing she was out of breath. This startled her, and she scrambled up to her feet. Expecting herself to throw up, she lunged for the sink, gripping both sides of its rim as she hung her head over the bowl.

But then she felt Franky - fucking Franky! She slipped Mini's hair between her fingers and held it out of the sink, patting her shoulder with one hand. Once again, Mini didn't feel like she was going to be sick. Her breathing became steady.

"Are you okay?" Franky asked her, "Did it pass?"

Mini couldn't answer. She didn't know what to say.

"Mini," Franky said quietly. Letting go of the blonde hair, she leaned her forehead into Mini's back, and they both closed their eyes. "Mini, I'm sorry. I don't know why... I shouldn't have done that. I shouldn't have lead you on."

"It's fine," she responded sharply. Their eyes opened and they pulled away from each other. After a pause, Mini said, "And you didn't lead me on, by the way. It didn't mean anything, to either of us. We're drunk, Franky, and it's a party. We're drunk, and shit happens." She felt her lower lip begin to tremble and she had to stop talking.

Franky was leaning against the wall, staring down at her shoes. Mini was still facing the sink, but she watched Franky through the mirror.

"I don't know why I like him, Mini. I just do and I'm sorry."

Mini couldn't believe just a reflection of Franky could make her that hungry. "Yeah." _Beat_. "Me too."

_Heartbeat.

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_

_A/N - _Not sure if this should be rated M, or if it's fine as T... Thoughts?


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